The first time I had octopus I was at a fine dining restaurant in Kauai, Hawaii. I remember being a little afraid of it because it wasn’t the typical battered, deep fried, smothered in creamy sauce type of presentation that I was used to with squid/calamari. When I tasted it, it was 100 times better.

When my husband and I moved to the West Coast I started doing restaurant reviews with a local online magazine, Hidden Gems. The first restaurant I visited, Terroir Kitchen in Ambleside, West Vancouver, told me their signature dish was grilled octopus. I ordered it based on their recommendation. The first bite (removed from palm trees and tropical beaches) – confirmed, I loved grilled octopus.

Making grilled octopus at home isn’t hard, it just takes time. To prevent the octopus from getting tough you need to slowly braise it for hours before it hits the grill. Otherwise, it will have that tough, chewy texture that people often associate with cheap pub calamari.

It’s worth the time, and basically effortless!

Pacific Grilled Octopus

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Ingredients

  

Octopus Braising

• 3 lbs Octopus
• 1 cup White Wine
• 4 tbsp Chorizo Seasoning Mixture of chilli, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and coriander
• 6 Cups Broth Enough to cover the octopus

Octopus Grilling

• 1 Roll of Genoa Salami Diced into cubes
• 3 tbsp Freshly chopped parsley
• 3-4 tbsp Chorizo Seasoning Mixture of chilli, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and coriander
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Fresh Cracked Pepper
• 1 Preserved Lemon Rind, julienned
• 1 Fresh Lemon

Instructions

 

• Clean the octopus, and then rub with the chorizo seasoning overnight.
• ** IF your octopus is pre cooked, skip this step ** Add wine and broth to a pan over medium low heat. Place the octopus into the pot and allow to simmer on low for 2 hours, until fork tender.
• Remove from the heat and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Preheat your charcoal grill.
• Pan fry cubed salami over medium heat until crispy and oily
• Remove from the heat and toss with fresh minced parsley and the preserved lemon rind
• Season your octopus with chorizo seasoning, drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cook on the grill until heated through-out (about 3-5 minutes).
• Toss in the parsley, salami, and lemon rind
• Splash fresh lemon juice on top
• Enjoy